by John Lyman
Lev was still glaring at Diaz. “I’ll bet that’s the first time they’ve ever been asked to attack a wheat field.”
“Their commander said the same thing,” Zamir said. “In fact, they’re making up a special mission patch to give to each member of the team when they return.”
Diaz seemed disconnected from the conversation. As an academic who was more at home alone in his lab, the easy banter of other men, especially military or athletic types, seemed foreign to him. It was as though speaking to those outside the scientific community caused him actual physical pain. He was much like the kid at school who preferred reading National Geographic in the library to playing a game of kickball, a game that made no sense to him because it had no practical application to the acquisition of knowledge, the reason he was in school to begin with.
“The destruction of those fields is a critical part of the plan,” Diaz said, looking up from his empty coffee cup. “I’ll need the team in France to send me some samples of the wheat before they destroy it.”
“We’ll make sure you receive a sample when you arrive in Toulouse, Doctor,” Zamir said. “Also, we’ve learned that the French government has already sent a sample of the pathogen to the lab there for study, and our man inside will make sure you have access to it.”
Leo stood and stretched his arms above his head. “When do we leave, Mr. Zamir?”
“Please, Cardinal ... call me Danny. As soon as it gets dark, Gabriella will fly you to a secret base in the desert. The jet will be waiting for you there. The flight to France will take about four hours. After you land, you’ll be taken to a safe house by an Israeli Special Forces team. You’ll all be bunking together.”
“Sounds like you’ve covered all the bases,” Leo said, looking up at the clock behind the bar like a condemned man waiting for his sentence to be carried out.
“Can you keep that food warm for me?” he asked the cook. “I’ve changed my mind. I think I will go for a swim before I eat.”
“No problem, Cardinal. It’ll be here when you get back.”
“Thanks.” Leo turned around to see Evita standing at the end of the bar in a tiny blue bikini. Watching his reaction, the cook turned around and threw the cardinal’s breakfast into the trash.
CHAPTER 45
The salt water burned the inside his nose as the first wave washed over him. Evita was already past the breaking surf, swimming beyond the third sand bar over a rocky underwater ledge that dropped off into an indigo abyss.
“Come on, Leo. The water is crystal clear out here once you’re past the surf.”
Leo had spent countless hours lying on the beach behind the villa, but he had never actually gone swimming in the ocean there, preferring instead to do his early morning laps in the pool behind the house. Now, pushing his way through the turbulent surf, the soundtrack from the movie “Jaws” began to play in his head. Being by the ocean was different from being in the ocean.
Once he was past the pull of the surf, he began to relax as he settled into the rhythmic motion of swimming in the glassy water further out. Evita stroked up beside him and kept pace as they paralleled the beach. Already, he was beginning to see why ocean swimmers were so passionate about their sport. Without the necessity of having to flip around every time he came to the end of a pool, he was free to keep going, making it easier to enter the Zen-like state experienced by those who participated in any form of exercise that involved steady, uninterrupted motion over long distances.
Through his tiny swimmers goggles, he watched the colorful fish as they swam over the reef twenty feet below. He spotted some loners with black and white stripes, darting through holes in the rocks as they raced to hide among a field of tall underwater plants that waved in the current. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Evita, swimming down to the bottom. Once there, she lingered over a colorful patch of coral before looking up at him and kicking her way back to the surface.
Popping up beside him, she resumed swimming at his side. They swam for another thirty minutes, until both became winded and struggled back through the surf before collapsing on the wet sand next to the water’s edge. Leo glanced over at the dark-haired beauty lying beside him. Her eyes were closed as she held her face toward the sun, while beads of water dried on her perfectly tanned skin.
“So, how long have you been a Cathar?” Leo asked, turning on his side to face her.
Evita opened her eyes and turned her head slightly. “That’s a great come-on line, Cardinal. You should use it more often.”
Leo began to stutter as Evita giggled. “I only meant ...”
“I’m teasing you, Leo. Lighten up.” She reached over and smoothed a tangle of wet, gray-streaked hair off his forehead as she peered into a pair of striking green eyes with a ring of gold deep inside. “I guess like most people, I was born into my religion. My family lived in Barcelona, but when I was three, they moved to Foix after my grandmother died and left her estate to my father.”
“Foix? Isn’t that the Cathar village we’re headed to tonight?”
“Yes. I find it quite a coincidence that my hometown has suddenly become the focus of our attention. At least I know the area, so that should help.”
“Is that when your family became Cathars ... after you moved there?”
Evita sat up and tossed her long black hair over her shoulders. “I come from an unbroken line of Cathars that date back to the 13th century. We’ve been Cathars for over seven hundred years.”
“You look really good for your age.”
Evita giggled again. “You’re very witty, Leo. I think that’s one of the things I like best about you. So, what would you like to know? What was it like to be raised in a Cathar household? How did we practice a religion most people didn’t even know existed in modern times?”
“Yes, to all of the above.”
“It was no big deal, really. Since we lived in a Cathar community, we all shared in the knowledge of who we were and what we believed. It was kind of cool, actually ... like knowing a secret that no one in the outside world knew about. We felt special. I’ve always loved my religion, and I can tell you now that we were all horrified to find out about Acerbi. If the outside world ever finds out that he’s behind this plague, and that he claims to be a Cathar, it will be disastrous for the rest of us. That’s why we decided to join forces with you. We want the world to know that Acerbi is a monster, and that it was real Cathars who put everything on the line in an effort to stop him.”
“I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Acerbi and his cohorts will be exposed to the world when all of this is over. The fact that he claims to be a Cathar is a little cloudy at this point, but if I have anything to say about it, his twisted theology will be exposed for what it is ... an aberration of your true faith.”
“You sound very sympathetic to our plight, Cardinal. Wouldn’t it be ironic that the Catholic Church came to the rescue of our faith now, seven hundred years after they almost wiped us from the face of the earth?”
Leo rolled over on his back and stared up at the sky. “There’s a lot about your faith that makes sense, Evita. I have this overwhelming feeling that we’re connected in ways we don’t even understand yet.”
The sun was blotted out by Evita’s face hovering above his own. She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips before jumping to her feet. “Let’s go eat,” she said. “I’m starving.”
Leo struggled to his feet and glanced back at the ocean. “You and I need to have a serious talk if we make it through this.”
Evita glanced back over her shoulder as she headed toward the boardwalk that led to the villa. “There’s nothing to talk about, Leo. We’re both adults, and we’ll do what we think is best, for both of us.”
CHAPTER 46
It was almost midnight when the gray, unmarked, Boeing C-17 Globemaster circled to land on a darkened runway tucked into the woods at the base of the rising Pyrenees. With electronic signals to guide them, the pilots were following a laser-guided approach to the field t
hat had been set up just prior to their arrival by Israeli Special Forces soldiers on the ground. Seconds later, the screech of tires against concrete announced the arrival of the big jet on French soil.
Diffuse, bluish light from a waning moon filtered down through a low cloud cover, providing an eerie welcome to the heavy-eyed team who had slept for most of the flight across the Mediterranean. Breathing in the crisp mountain air, they made their way down the ramp at the back of the aircraft to three black SUVs waiting on the tarmac.
“Hello, Professor,” a voice called out from the darkness.
Lev squinted at the dark shapes moving at the periphery of his vision. “Who’s there?”
“Benjamin ... Benjamin Zamir, sir.”
“Danny’s boy?” Lev watched as a muscular, dark-haired man in his early 30’s appeared from the edge of the runway. His face was smeared with green and black camouflage paint and a pair of night-vision goggles hung from the front of his helmet.
“Yes, sir. I’m the commander of Special Ops Team 5 now. My father personally chose our team for this mission.”
“Time flies. The last time I saw you ...”
“Was at my high school graduation. I was honored that you came.”
“It’s always an honor to be invited by a friend to a special event involving one of their children. Remember that. How long have you been in Special Forces?”
“Almost six years now, Professor. I don’t mean to rush, but we need to get everyone into the vehicles so we can clear this runway. The pilots need to get that jet out of here as soon as possible.”
Two minutes later, the SUVs were headed down a dirt road lined with trees as the sound of a big jet streaking by overhead drowned out all conversation inside the vehicle.
“The safe house is just a few miles from here, but there’s been a change of plans.”
“What kind of change?” Lev asked.
“The man you came to meet in Foix has given specific instructions that he will only meet with you and the cardinal.”
“What about the rest of the team?”
“They’ll remain at the safe house ... all except for Dr. Diaz. As soon as we finish his makeup job, we’re taking him to the lab in Toulouse. We were only able to get access to the facility for six hours, so he’s going to have to get in and out quickly.”
Alon leaned over the seat. “I’m not letting Lev and Leo go to any meeting without me.”
“My men will be surrounding the house and ...”
“I don’t care. I’m going in with them.”
“You’ll never win this argument, Ben,” Lev said. “Where I go, Alon goes.”
“But the man specifically told us that he only wants to meet with you and Leo.”
“He’ll have to adjust.”
“OK ... you’re the boss.” The SUV crunched to a stop on a gravel driveway in front of a log house that was set back beneath some of the biggest pine trees any of them had ever seen. “We’re home,” Ben said. “This is the safe house. The rest of your team will be staying here, while you three come with us to Foix.”
“Right now?” Lev asked.
“Yes, sir. The man you have come to meet is waiting for you.”
“Let’s go.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were passing through the sleeping town of Foix, past darkened homes of families who had no idea that a team of Israeli Special Forces soldiers were driving through their little village in the middle of the night.
Glancing out through his side window, Leo thought about the feeling new places gave him at night, in darkness, but then the next day, in bright sunlight, they looked completely different. He remembered a trip he had once made to Seattle. Arriving at midnight, he had been driven straight to his hotel past brightly-lit fast food places and car rental lots, but everything beyond those pools of light was a mystery. The next morning, he threw back the drapes of his room and saw Mount Rainier in the distance. Rising from a green forest floor to a white snow top against a crystal blue sky, it was a majestic sight, one he would never forget. What would he see the next morning here in Foix?
“Do we have any agenda for this meeting?” Leo asked.
“None,” Lev replied. “We’re just going to have to play it by ear and see what this man has to say. Personally, I think it’s a 50-50 chance that we’re heading into a trap.”
Leo looked at the SUV full of soldiers driving in front of them. “I was thinking the same thing. Glad these guys are with us.”
“Me too, but if it is a trap, we’re probably already outnumbered.”
“Are you always so optimistic?”
“This is optimistic. You don’t want to hear what the pessimistic side of me is thinking.”
“Great. And to think, I was getting bored of my life at the Vatican. I’ll never complain of boredom again.”
The SUVs sped out of town and turned off on a side road that led to a two-story stone house situated on a slight rise in the middle of a rocky field with no trees around. The vehicle containing Leo, Lev, and Alon stopped, while the lead SUV drove out into the field and dropped off the soldiers inside. Within seconds, they had all disappeared into the night.
After waiting out on the road for several minutes, Ben received a call on his radio from the soldiers surrounding the house. “Ok, Professor. We’ve got the go-ahead to proceed. We’re walking in from here.”
Stepping from the protection of the armored SUV, the men began walking over the rough ground toward the house. The only light in the building came from a corner window on the second floor. The rest of the house was totally dark. Alon noticed that, from a strategic standpoint, the house was perfectly situated so that no one would be able to approach from any direction without being seen.
With the benefit of night-vision goggles, the soldiers led the group to the front door before fading off into the shadows.
“Now what?” Leo asked.
Lev reached out and knocked on the door. Slowly, the door swung open on its own, as if it had been left ajar.
“Now what?”
Lev looked back over his shoulder at Leo. “Would you please stop saying that?”
“Sorry ... but really ... now what?”
“Come in, my friends.”
The three men exchanged glances. Peering into the darkened house, Lev saw a figure moving up the stairs through a column of faint yellowish light shining from the floor above.
The figure stopped for a moment. “Come, now, my friends, you have nothing to fear. Join me in my library upstairs.”
The figure disappeared up the stairwell, leaving the three confused men standing in the doorway.
“He could have taken us all out by now if that was his intention,” Lev said. “Let’s go.”
He pushed the door the rest of the way open and the three of them walked into the downstairs living room. Tripping over a small end table in the darkness, Lev led Leo and Alon through the darkened room to the bottom of the stairwell. Taking the Sig 9mm pistols from their waistbands, Lev and Alon motioned for Leo to follow as they moved cautiously up the stairs.
Once they reached the second floor, they found themselves standing in an open room, its polished wooden floors covered with oriental carpets. Pools of light from several ornate lamps highlighted two facing couches in front of a rock fireplace, and the entire space was lined with bookshelves overflowing with books of every description. A quick glance told Leo that most of them had to do with history and archaeology.
The other half of the room contained a small but elegant kitchen built around a circular alcove surrounded by windows. Sitting at a table in the alcove, they saw the outline of a man cloaked in shadow.
“Guns, Gentlemen?”
“Just a precaution,” Lev said, suddenly feeling exposed.
“I see you’ve brought Alon Lavi along with you. An excellent choice. I would have done the same.”
Lev could barely contain his astonishment. “How do you know Alon?”
“I know all of you.”
Alon tightened the grip on the pistol behind his back as he tried to make out the face of the shadowy figure. “Really? What else do you know?”
“I know that Israeli Special Forces Team 5 is outside my door right now. You’ve brought the best of the best with you this evening.”
Lev felt a chill run down his spine. This man was completely at ease, and whoever he was, he knew everything about them. If this was a trap, it had been planned perfectly.
“Won’t you join me for a cup of tea?”
Taking a step forward, Leo thought he heard the hint of an Italian accent in the man’s speech. “Tea?”
“Yes ... tea, Cardinal. We have a lot to discuss. You might as well be comfortable. And you can tell the men outside they can relax. I can assure you that I am alone.”
“They have their orders,” Alon said.
“I’m sure they do.” The figure stirred before leaning forward and bringing his face into the light. His piercing blue eyes looked like those of a much younger man, but his hair was snow white, as was a neatly trimmed goatee. Deep lines creased his pale face, while the translucent, parchment-like skin highlighted the raised blue veins in hands that had a slight tremor to them.
All three men froze with the sudden realization of who they were looking at. They stood there speechless with a foggy grasp on reality, as if they were just awakening from a dream, for they were all staring into the face of a man they had seen only in pictures.
It can’t be! He’s been dead for years!
But truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and it was obvious that the man sitting before them was very much alive. They were all staring into the face of Eduardo Acerbi, and he was smiling.
CHAPTER 47
The astonished men attempted to gather their thoughts as they looked into the unblinking eyes of Eduardo Acerbi. Sitting before them was a man who had once been one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. As the enigmatic head of the powerful Acerbi clan, he had ruled over a vast international business empire until that fateful day forty years ago when he had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
